Biobanking refers to the practice of collecting human and animal biological samples, including blood, urine, bone marrow, saliva, spinal fluid, and tissue, for research purposes to further our understanding of health and disease.
The discipline of biobanking has evolved significantly over the previous three decades, beginning with a small university-based repository established for the sake of specific studies. Biobanking has developed from basic biological sample storage to sophisticated and dynamic entities that are part of larger infrastructure networks, such as the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER), Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI), and Pan-European Biobanking.
Read this article that describes the importance of biobanking in modern-day research. Biobanks not only play a crucial role in life-threatening disease research such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders, but they also helped in the COVID19 study during a recent pandemic.